8 big-time Florida music festivals that need to be on your radar

This year's massive III Points electronic music festival takes over large swaths of Miami and includes blockbuster performers like Gorillaz, the xx and Brian Eno.

The Fest

Oct. 27-29, 2017

Various locations, Gainesville

Gainesville's scrappy punk fest is now 16 years old and bigger than ever; this year's lineup includes everyone from Against Me! to Superchunk to Iron Reagan.

Electric Daisy Carnival

Nov. 10-11, 2017

Tinker Field, 287 S. Tampa Ave.

The EDM festival to end all EDM festivals promises a total Technicolor immersion of music, lights, costumes, rides, and the best and brightest in new dance music.

Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival

March 1-4, 2018

Sunshine Grove, Okeechobee

The 600-acre Sunshine Grove becomes an otherworldly wonderland every year for four days in the spring during the Okeechobee Fest, but the music is just as crucial. The Roots, Bassnectar and the Lumineers were among recent headliners.

Gasparilla Music Festival

March 2018

Downtown Tampa

Besides heavy headliners like Ghostface Killah and Erykah Badu, this sprawling music festival that spreads out all over downtown Tampa is a concert with a cause: promoting music education and local creativity.

WJRR's Earthday Birthday

April 2018

Central Florida Fairgrounds, 4603 W. Colonial Drive

Much-listened-to local FM station WJRR 101.1-FM has been throwing a massive musical celebration of Earth Day for the past 24 years; headliners in 2017 included Sublime with Rome and Sevendust.

Country 500

May 2018

Daytona International Speedway

Combine the site of the famed Daytona 500 with a slew of country music legends of the past, present and future, and you have a recipe for the most over-the-top country fest yet.

Vans Warped Tour

Summer 2018

Location TBA

Going strong since 1995, this traveling punk roadshow packs them in year after year with a mix of new pop-punk acts and still-vibrant legends.